New Nukes
Letter from David Lowry: Wind energy is, to be sure, subsidised by taxpayer funds, but so, too, is nuclear – and much more generously. Nuclear subsidies paid for by British taxpayers are already in place, including: the multi-billion pound underwriting of insurance liabilities (Chernobyl has so far cost the poor Ukrainian and Belarusian taxpayers tens of billions of pounds since 1986); the research and development for long-term nuclear waste management and facility decommissioning; and the donations made to national and international nuclear research and promotional bodies. More recently, Lord Mandelson’s business department agreed an £80?million loan guarantee to Sheffield Forgemasters to make a giant press to manufacture steel for nuclear plants. It would make more sense if the important debate over our energy security future were conducted with facts, not predetermined prejudice in favour of nuclear power.
Telegraph 2nd April 2010 more >>
Oldbury
A planning application is likely to be submitted in 2014, with preliminary work beginning in 2016, followed by main construction in 2019. Tim Proudler, Horizon Nuclear Power’s planning and consents manager for Oldbury said: “We are confident that the Oldbury site meets all of the criteria set out by the Government as part of its Strategic Siting Assessment (SSA) for new nuclear development, including the requirement to be operational by 2025.”
Thornbury People 31st March 2010 more >>
Wylfa
ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners staged a protest over plans to build a new power plant on Anglesey yesterday.
Around 40 people stood on the Menai Bridge for an hour in extreme weather conditions. But despite the fierce winds they waved placards and encouraged motorists to toot their horns in support of their protest.
Daily Post 1st April 2010 more >>
Dounreay
DOUNREAY’S operators are looking to axe up to 180 posts from its in-house workforce over the next three years. The review of staffing numbers at the site follows confirmation that the annual budget for the remainder of the clean-up is being set at up to £150 million. That led to the shelving of two large waste plants and changes in the decommissioning programme.
John O Groat Journal 31st March 2010 more >>
Heysham
Anti Nuclear Alliance Public meeting 28th April 8pm, Gregson Community and Arts Centre, Moor Lane, Lancaster.
US
Public support for nuclear energy in the USA has reached a record high, with 74% of people saying they are in favour of nuclear energy, according to the results of a new poll.
World Nuclear News 1st April 2010 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
President Obama will rewrite America’s policy on nuclear weapons next week, heralding further reductions in the US stockpile and giving a pledge not to develop new systems. After a review of the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal that has involved, among others, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy and the intelligence services, as well as the White House, Mr Obama is expected to reject the doctrine on nuclear weapons the “nuclear posture” adopted by George W. Bush, which included the possibility of the United States launching an attack on a non-nuclear state.
Times 2nd April 2010 more >>
Peter Burt: Shared patrols would allow the submarines of each nation to be taken out of the routine of continuous at-sea deterrence for set periods. This would reduce the total number of nuclear weapons deployed at any particular time, which can only add to global safety and security. In due course, as confidence in the new arrangements grows, each nation could eventually consider withdrawing some of its nuclear warheads from service and gradually moving away from a policy of constant nuclear patrols. This would help demonstrate the kind of tangible progress towards disarmament that is essential if the spread of nuclear weapons around the world is to be controlled.
Guardian 2nd April 2010 more >>
A thaw in relations between the US and China appears to be under way after months of strain between the superpowers over arms sales to Taiwan, cybersecurity, the Dalai Lama and the trade imbalance. The Chinese foreign ministry said today that President Hu Jintao is to visit Washington on 12-13 April for a nuclear proliferation summit. The decision came less than 24 hours after it emerged that China, after months of stalling, had agreed to engage in negotiations on drafting UN sanctions against Iran.
Guardian 2nd April 2010 more >>
FT 2nd April 2010 more >>
Telegraph 2nd Apr 2010 more >>
Iran
The Iranian government has announced its own international disarmament conference on April 17 and 18, four days after Washington concludes Barack Obama’s nuclear security summit, and a couple of weeks before the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) comes up for review in New York.
Guardian 1st April 2010 more >>
Iran’s most senior nuclear official today arrived in China for talks, a day after Beijing agreed to begin drafting a UN resolution imposing sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme. Yesterday, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the five permanent security council members, plus Germany, “continue to be unified” in talks on sanctions.
Guardian 2nd April 2010 more >>
BBC 1st April 2010 more >>
Renewables
RenewableUK, the former British Wind Energy Association, warned that a debate around whether the feed-in tariff could be expanded as a subsidy regime for larger schemes was “extremely unhelpful”. The major wind-power groups benefit from subsidies handed out through a Renewable Obligation (RO) but fear that the government and the energy regulator, Ofgem, are looking for alternatives, while the Conservatives and Friends of the Earth have stated their interest in such a move.
Guardian 2nd April 2010 more >>
